Information taken from an online quiz; no sources reference given.
Which one of the 10 Commandments is missing from the New Testament? A. 1st B. 3rd C. 4th D. None of the above All Ten Commandments are specifically mentioned in the New Testament, some several times. Be sure to understand The words of the Messiah Himself when he said, "I did not come to abolish the Torah (law of Moses) or the Prophets, I came to fully preach, fulfill, make known, magnify abundantly {pleroo in Greek} the Torah and prophets..." Matthew 5:17-20. 1st Commandment: Matthew 4:10; John 4:24; Revelation 19:10. 2nd Commandment: Acts 15:20; 17:29; Romans 1:23-25; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 10:14; 1 John 5:21 3rd Commandment: Matthew 6:9; John 5:43; 10:25; 17:6; Romans 2:24; 1 Timothy 6:1 4th Commandment: Matthew 12:8; 24:20; Mark 1:21; 2:27-28; Luke 4:16; 23:56; Acts 13:14; 15:21; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4,11; 15:21; Colossians 2:16; Hebrews 4:4, 8-10 5th Commandment: Matthew 19:19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Ephesians 6:2-3; Colossians 3:20 6th Commandment: Matthew 5:21-22; 19:19; Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; James 2:11; 1 John 3:15 7th Commandment: Matthew 5:27-28; 19:18; Romans 2:22; 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Hebrews 13:4 8th Commandment: Matthew 19:18; Romans 2:21; 13:9; Ephesians 4:28 9th Commandment: Matthew 19:18; Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9; 1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 3:3; 10th Commandment: Romans 7:7; 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:10; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5. Look each of these verses up and test scripture for yourself. Our Messiah DID NOT DO AWAY with the law (of Moses) or the writings of the prophets. No, he lived and taught them and promised us that they would not pass away in any way or form until the earth passed away. See Matthew chapter 5 for more about this. YWHW keeps ALL of His promises! Correct: D How many tithes does the Bible mention and for what purpose are they given? If you had asked me this during 90% of my life, I would have said "one". That all changed when I heard a bit of something that made me think that perhaps there were at least two different tithes mentioned in the Bible. How could I be my age, have grown up in the church and STILL NOT KNOW THIS!? I was far enough along in my hebrew roots, messianic studies to know the answer to that question! I asked a few people I knew from church, but they said one also or had no idea. One of these so-called "Christians" elaborated and told me it didn't "even matter because tithes were from the Old Testament and Jesus did away with all of that junk anyway...". I admit I didn't know much about tithes at that moment, but I was (am still am) absolutely positive that if something is in the Bible, it isn't junk AND I knew that nothing had been "done away with" by Jesus or anyone else. The GOD I serve is the same yesterday, today, and forever! The dead end sent me to the internet and a few familiar sites, but it seemed no one in the Christian circles wanted to talk about this, unless it was to say "Don't worry about it, it's all been abolished anyway...". Sometimes I come across something that intrigues me, gets my attention and I really. must. know. more. This was one of those times. I know that it is the Holy Spirit in me showing me things, teaching me, leading me where I need to study or learn nest, but often I am a little dull and don't get it. This was one of those times. I let it go and moved on. However, the Spirit of the Living GOD has a plan and purpose I had not taken into consideration. For the next several days, everywhere I went, I saw the word tithes, heard talk about giving to charities and those in need, saw people in need, reaching out for help. A friend even contacted me to ask about my family's plans for Sukkot and shared what their plans were - a big, 10 day vacation, with a couple of other families, in condos on the east coast. Wow! That's expensive! Bells and whistles and sirens went off in my head! Here is what I eventually found out. My research here is not complete, but at least it's a start. There is absolutely more than one tithe mentioned in the Bible. There are three, in fact. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, clearly states that this tithe collected for the poor was different from the other two: “Besides those two tithes, which I have already said you are to pay every year, the one for the Levites, the other for the festivals, you are to bring every third year a third tithe to be distributed to those that want [i.e., lack]; to women also that are widows, and to children that are orphans” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 4, chapter 8, section 22). 1) The first type of tithe is for the work of GOD and is holy unto Him, and to be used solely for His work. “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh. If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it. All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it. If he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.’” These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. Leviticus 27:30-34 Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies. Malachi 3:8-11 2) The second type of tithe is to be used for observing and celebrating the Feasts of YHWH. The tithe is given/saved to ensure that a person or family will have sufficient funds for the yearly Feasts of YHWH. You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes out of the field year by year. You shall eat before Yahweh your God, in the place which he chooses, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear Yahweh your God always. If the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you, which Yahweh your God shall choose, to set his name there, when Yahweh your God shall bless you; then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose. You shall trade the money for whatever your soul desires, for cattle, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you; and you shall eat there before Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. Deuteronomy 14:22-26 3) The third type of tithe is for those who serve and work within the Temple (today that would be those who serve the body), and also for the widow, the orphan and the needy or poor. You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you. At the end of every three years you shall bring all the tithe of your increase in the same year, and shall store it within your gates. The Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the foreigner living among you, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. Deuteronomy 14:27-29 The second tithe is how my friend and her family, and those vacationing with them, were able to afford to be able to go to the coast for over a week and relax and celebrate the Feast of Sukkot together, in a "temporary dwelling". Isn't YHWH amazing... I should not be surprised after all this time to see that He truly has thought of everything from the foundation of the earth. here is another thought via photo:
copied material, no source available.
Jesus and the Ten Commandments Some said Jesus did away with the ten commandments. {See my posts on pleroo and Matthew 5 for more on this subject}. They say that by leading a sinless life, He fulfilled them for us. Although it is true that Jesus lead a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), does that mean He wanted us to continue in sin? What did Jesus teach about each of the ten commandments? Jesus' teachings are quoted in this section as often as they are quoted in the New Testament. Before you read them, ask yourself, if Jesus was doing away with the ten commandments, why would He have spent so much time teaching people to keep them and allowed so much space in the New Testament to be devoted to them? Commandment 1 "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matthew 4:10). "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the great commandment" (Matthew 22:37). "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment" (Mark 12:30). "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Luke 4:8). Commandment 2 "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matthew 4:10). "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Luke 4:8). "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam...to eat things sacrificed to idols" (Revelation 2:14). "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow...My servants to...eat things sacrificed to idols" (Revelation 2:20). Commandment 3 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" (Matthew 12:31). "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,...blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man" (Matthew 15:19-20). Commandment 4 "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11-12). "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath" (Matthew 24:20); there would be no reason to pray this if the Sabbath was not going to be in existence. "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath'" (Mark 2:27); this verse tells all who will see which day is the Lord's Day. "And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue" (Mark 6:2). "And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read" (Luke 4:16). "Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths" (Luke 4:31). "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath...Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?" (Luke 6:5,9). "But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath...The Lord then answered him and said, 'Hypocrite...So ought not this woman...be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?'" (Luke 13:14-16). "'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'...And they could not answer Him regarding these things" (Luke 14:3,6). "are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?" (John 7:23). Commandment 5 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22). "For God commanded saying, 'Honor your father and your mother' and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death'" (Matthew 15:4). "Honor your father and your mother" (Matthew 19:19). "Honor your father and your mother" (Mark 7:10). "Honor your father and your mother" (Mark 10:19). "You know the commandments:...Honor your father and your mother" (Luke 18:20). Commandment 6 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder', and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22). "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders...These are the things which defile a man" (Matthew 15:19-20). "You shall not murder" (Matthew 19:18). "...murders...All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:21,23). "Do not murder" (Mark 10:19). "You know the commandments:...Do not murder" (Luke 18:20). Commandment 7 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery'. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28). "But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery" (Matthew 5:32). "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts...adulteries, fornications...These are the things which defile a man" (Matthew 15:19-20). "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery" (Matthew 19:9). "You shall not commit adultery"(Matthew 19:18). "...adulteries, fornications...All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:21,23). "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:11-12). "Do not commit adultery" (Mark 10:19). "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery" (Luke 16:18). "You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery" (Luke 18:20). "'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery'...And Jesus said to her...'sin no more'" (John 8:4,11). "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation" (Revelation 2:22). Commandment 8 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts...thefts...These are the things which defile a man" (Matthew 15:19-20). "You shall not steal" (Matthew 19:18). "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer', but you have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13). "...thefts...All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:22-23). "Do not steal" (Mark 10:19). "You know the commandments:... Do not steal" (Luke 18:20). Commandment 9 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, do not swear at all" (Matthew 5:33-34). "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts...false witness...These are the things which defile a man" (Matthew 15:19-20). "You shall not bear false witness" (Matthew 19:18). "Do not bear false witness" (Mark 10:19). "You know the commandments:...Do not bear false witness" (Luke 18:20). "And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (Revelation 2:2). Commandment 10 "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on" (Matthew 6:25). "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts...These are the things which defile a man" (Matthew 15:19-20). "...covetousness...All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:22- 23). So it is clear that Jesus taught every one of the ten commandments. Remember, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Interestingly, although Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law" (Matthew 5:17), that is what many have concluded. When He also said, "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (pleroo). For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (vs.17-18), some have concluded that "fulfill" means that Jesus came to destroy the law (interestingly, Jesus fulfilled baptism by being baptized, not eliminating or revoking baptism 3:13-16). In many of the verses following this (5:19-37, several of which are quoted above) Jesus proves that He did indeed come to "magnify the law and make it honorable". NOT to abolish it! I re-learned something very important and personal this week. God gives us second chances. Our friends may not - they may turn on us. Our spouses may not, they may leave us. But YHWH longs to give us a second chance. I knew that, but I had forgotten it from a scriptural point of view. What I mean is, I had learned this several years ago, but being new to "everything OT", I was not fully aware of the impact this should have had on me, my life and my view of my Abba. What am I talking about? Why, Second Passover, of course. YHWH has seven appointed feasts -- Pesach (Passover), Chag Hamotzi (Unleavened Bread), Yom Habikkurim (First Fruits), Shavuot (Pentecost), Yom Teruah (Trumpets), Atonement (Yom Kippur) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). They are not Jewish feasts, they are YHWH's Feasts. And these Feasts of YHWH (with the exception of Yom Kippur) are to be times of joy and celebration and remembrance. They are to be feasts, after all! The Israelites, those who loved and followed the Creator of all things, would have naturally WANTED to participate in every one of the Feasts in worship of their Father and God. But what happened if one was "unclean" or far, far away from Jerusalem and the Temple and unable to participate in the Passover celebration? What then? Well, we don't have to speculate. It actually happened, and scripture tells us all about the provision, the second chance, that YHWH lovingly gave to his children when they asked Him. "But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day and said to Moses, 'We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?'” (Numbers 9:6–7) What did He do? He gave them a Second Passover! This feast is unique among all the others in the Bible because God gives His people a second chance, the Second Passover, in response to unclean people asking to be included! They LONGED to participate in their Abba's celebration (as should we). “When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight.” (Numbers 9:10 -11) The rules for this second chance were slightly different from those on the first Passover, but nonetheless important. For the Second Passover, the Israelites who celebrated it did not have to clean their houses and then keep the feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days as they were required to the month before. Instead, God gave them a one-day pass to bring their Passover offering to the Temple and eat unleavened bread on that one day! The Second Passover is a perfect picture of our missed opportunity and the unmerited mercy of our loving Father in heaven. Although YHWH set out a time and way for Israel to observe and celebrate Passover on Nissan 14 of each year, He revealed Himself loving, kind, merciful and caring through the provision of the Second Passover. It is NEVER TOO LATE to worship and thank YHWH His mercy and loving-kindness toward us. There is very good reason for those who were/are unclean or who were too far from Jerusalem, traveling, to have had to miss Passover, but these followers refused to accept their exclusion, and asked YHWH for any go. In response He gave them their hearts' desires in order that they could worship Him. As His child I must always remember that I am never too far, or too far gone, to seek His face, to seek to worship Him and to please Him. He longs for me to do just that! He will hear and He will answer! He longs to give me the desires of my heart (as my heart's desires line up with His!). Therefore, may I always remember the lessons of the Bible from the story of the Second Passover and refuse to be excluded from the fullness of life promised by my Messiah because of circumstances or mistakes from my (distant or not-so-distant) past. YHWH hears me when I call, and Yeshua promises results if I will only ask: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7–8 The Word of YHWH speaks to us. Through the words of scripture YHWH reveals His will, His character, and His heart for us, if we will only listen -- and then obey!! The Hebrew word that YHWH used when he said to listen or hearken is shema - קריאת שמע. In Hebrew the word has the connotation of not only hearing with the ears, but listening with the heart, mind and soul AND THEN ACTING upon what you heard. It is the whole reason Yeshua's brother, James, told us:
James 1:22 "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says, otherwise you are only fooling yourselves. For weeks and weeks I have been reading and thinking about Yeshua's words in Matthew 5. Matthew is the FIRST BOOK of the New Testament. Really it is where the crux of the anti-Torah vs pro-Torah "argument" comes from in the Church's mind, right? They preach and teach everyone that Jesus came and abolished, or did away with, the Torah, that he nailed it all to the cross and we no longer have to concern ourselves with all those antiquated and outdated Old Testament rules that even Jesus said are too hard for anyone to follow. (Bunny trail for study: Did he really say that? Re-read it -- was he talking about the Bible or all of the traditions and man-made rules the Pharisees had added to the people?) Yeshua is quoted over and over (in all four gospels) saying the same thing. Everything that he says is clear and concise, and yet man has taken his words and screwed them up into knots, confusing themselves --- and others. Matthew 5 warns against this! Yeshua's words are often twisted to mean that he DID do away with, or abolish, the Law and Prophets. This is NOT TRUE! Read the words of Matthew yourself, in ANY version of the Bible. It does not say what we have been taught in our churches. How ANYONE can read the words that he clearly spoke and understand it in exactly the opposite way is hard to understand. Read the words again in purple below. It is IMPOSSIBLE to understand it as done away with, unless you make words mean the OPPOSITE of what they actually mean. He absolutely, specifically says, "I DID NOT COME TO ABOLISH..." Matthew 5: 17-19 “Do not think that I have come to destroy {abolish} the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy {abolish} them, but to fulfill (pleroo) them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all [of it] takes place. Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Important note: From a word study I did last year (http://set-apart-prairie.weebly.com/word-studies.htm), I learned that the word fulfill, in verse 17, in Greek, is PLEROO. This particular Greek word means:
It does not mean to finish or abolish, or do away with! The "complete" that is meant is akin to saying that "a husband and wife complete each other". They aren't by any means done, or finished, or perfect, and they certainly don't abolish or do away with one another by being together, but together they are two parts now become one, that are a portion of a larger puzzle, and make that portion complete as they continue to work toward perfection and completion in the Savior within their marriage until ultimate completion on Judgement Day. Revelation is the LAST BOOK of the New Testament. Quoted below are a couple of verses that I do not ever remember reading before last night. TC and I went to the Casting Crowns concert yesterday evening. It was a good night all around. TC and I had a good time out together and I really enjoyed having a driver, instead of being a driver. :-) Casting Crowns' encouragement and words straight from scripture have been a blessing and light over the years that helped to keep me afloat in some very difficult and terrible times. They mean a lot to me, so I could not pass up seeing them again. During most of their songs, the lyrics flash on a giant screen (much like you see in some churches). I don't know which song it was, but something in one of them triggered a reminder that I had an email in my inbox that I hadn't read and told me I needed to read it as soon as I got home. Matthew 5 was still heavily on my mind, especially as I looked around at the hundreds and hundreds of people around me in the stadium, I wondered how many of them believed that Jesus did away with the law and the prophets? How many of them were hurting? How many of them felt like there is more to what they have been taught but they can't figure it out quite yet? Even though I was there having a good time with my son, and ready to enjoy so really great music and worship my King, I was sad. I felt heavy inside. It was making me cry. When we got home, I headed straight for my inbox. I only had to read the first two sentence: Revelation 14: 12-13 "Here is a call for the endurance (patience) of the saints, those who keep the commandments of YHWH AND the faith OF Yeshua. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in YHWH from now on'. Blessed indeed, says Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" and Revelation 22:7, 18-19 “And behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and from the holy city that are written in this book." There you have it: Matthew = 1st book; Revelation = last book. Bam! Done! Clarity! Simplicity! Praise His Name! Now, all this scripture together: Yeshua said, "Do not think that I have come to destroy {abolish} the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy {abolish} them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all [of it] takes place. Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [And}] here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of YHWH and faith OF Yeshua. And I (John) heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.” “And behold, I {Yeshua} am coming quickly! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” I {Yeshua} testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, YHWH God will add to him the plagues written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, YHWH God will take away his share of the tree of life and from the holy city that are written in this book. Amen. If you wish to read more on this and dig deeper, please, fasten your seat-belt and click here: http://hethathasanear.com/index1.htm It is almost the end of April on the Gregorian calendar, so that means we are in the Hebrew month of Iyar. Iyar is its Babylonian name, the Bible refers to it as ‘the second month’ or ‘chodesh haziv’ (the month of shining or blossoming), or simply as the month of Ziv. There are always two days of Rosh Chodesh Iyar (celebration of the new moon), the first of which is the 30th day of Nisan. Iyar always has 29 days. Iyar is known as the month of (natural) healing.
Two memorials commemorating events in history of modern Israel are celebrated in this month. Israel Independence Day is on the 5th of Iyar, and Jerusalem Day, the day Israel reconquered Jerusalem during the Six Day War, is on the 28th day of the month. The 4th of Iyar is Israel's Yom HaZikaron, or Israeli national memorial day for fallen soldiers. There are several dates in Israel's ancient history to note this month, too, as recorded in the pages of scripture. 1) On the first day of Iyar following the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the thirsty people reached a well of bitter water. Moses was told to cast a tree into the water. He did and it miraculously became sweet. YHWH then promised that if Israel followed His ways he would not place upon them the diseases he placed upon Egypt. “The diseases I have placed upon Egypt I will not place upon you, for I AM YHWH your Healer.” Exodus 15:26 YHWH Rophe - YHWH our Healer Hebrew letters often have deeper meaning than the simple words they spell. Again, the Hebrew letters that form the word Iyar form an acronym of the Exodus verse above: "I am the Lord your Healer", thus Iyar is seen as a propitious time for healing. 2) On the first day of Iyar, King Solomon began the construction of the First Temple. (Kings I:6:1) 3) On the exact same day, hundreds of years later, Ezra began the construction of the Second Temple. (Ezra 3:8) 4) During the month of Iyar following the exodus from Egypt, mannah began to fall in the desert for the wandering people to eat, and it continued to fall for 40 years. According to Jewish tradition, mannah is supposed to have healing qualities, so there is another association between Iyar and healing. When I ran across this I sat up and took notice. At this very moment.... actually since about the time of the new moon for Iyar ..... I have been in need of physical healing. I'm not sure why or what is going on, but it has definitely gotten my attention. The list of symptoms in interesting: (roving) joint pain, swollen lymph nodes on my neck, extreme fatigue, low grade fever, swollen and/or weak hands and arms, headaches, back and neck pain, not being able to sleep, and a host of other little things that hit pretty much all at once, but I didn't realize were connected or related. Yikes! I was delighted to do some reading about what the Jewish sages say this month means, or what it's essence is all about... I found the essence to be healing, drawing closer to YHWH and building understanding. Although I do not subscribe to Talmudic teachings as being equal with Torah, I do find the associations between this month, it's constellation (the ox plowing the field, sowing new seed and nourishing growth and healing of the land), letter meanings (as in the acronym explained above) and the historical dates of import (also listed above), etc., to be amazing and somehow comforting, if not a little enlightening. Above all, I am just pleased as punch that YHWH brought all this to my attention. I had already determined and understood (through prayer) that the next few weeks were going to have to be a time of healing and recovery and discovery for me because of the number of things in life that recently changed or stopped and how worn out I feel inside and out! It has become (literally) painfully obvious that some of my priorities are out of balance. This has been a confirmation of that decision to rest and seek His healing and comfort. Hallelujah and praise be to the One who opens my eyes... daily... Reposted from Bibles for Israel, http://free.messianicbible.com/parasha/passover-day-dedicated-coming-messiah/ The Eighth Day of Passover, 5775 Torah Readings: Deuteronomy 15:19–16:17; Isaiah 10:32–12:6; 1 Corinthians 15:35–16:24; Revelation 2:1–7 Maftir: Numbers 28:19–25 “On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.” (Exodus 12:16) It has been a full week—seven days—of eating matzah (unleavened bread) and abstaining from all forms of leaven during Pesach (Feast of Passover). Last night, on the seventh night of Passover, some Jewish people stayed awake all night. They do this because the Israelites are believed to have crossed the Red Sea on this night of Passover. It was an all-night event that demonstrated the miraculous and awesome power of God. The Torah reading for the seventh day of Passover (Exodus 13:17–15:26) includes the recounting of the crossing of the Red Sea. Jewish people then sing the Song of Moses—the same one sung by the ancient Israelites thousands of years ago when they rejoiced over their victory in safely reaching the other side: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: ‘I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.’” (Exodus 15:1) While Passover is now drawing to a close in Israel, the last day of Passover is just beginning in the Diaspora (Jews living outside Israel). This extra day of Passover for Jews living outside Israel was instituted by rabbinic decree from early on. One purpose may have been to raise awareness among members of the Jewish communities living outside of Israel that they could come home out of exile. Another reason, perhaps the original reason, however, for the extra day has to do with the timing of the holiday. Originally, the beginning of the month was established at the sighting of the New Moon in Jerusalem, which set the exact day of the celebration of holidays. Special messengers were dispatched from Jerusalem so that throughout Israel, as well as the Diaspora, holidays would be celebrated on the proper day. Of course, the messengers did not always arrive before the holiday, so an extra day was added to some holidays, including Passover. But in regards to time, there is another difference between the eighth day and the rest of Passover; the eighth day looks forward to a future redemption rather than back to a past redemption. From Redemption in Egypt to Final Redemption in the Messianic Era The Exodus from Egypt marked a new beginning for the Israelites—the birthing of their nation. But theirs was no ordinary nation, for when they stepped out of Egypt, they stepped into a Divine call and destiny. God Himself would guide them so that their Divine call and destiny would be fulfilled: to be a holy nation and kingdom of priests holding out to the other nations the Torah and Light of the World. Israel's nationhood was conceived with God’s personal call to Abraham. It continued to grow through Isaac and Jacob and the twelve sons that became the 12 tribes, which multiplied to great numbers in just 400 years. And finally upon the Exodus from Egypt, birthing the nation that would bring about the blessing of God to the world. Each year at Passover, we are to consider that we ourselves left Egypt those many years ago. But this looking back also points to our present. Each of us has our own personal Egypt from which we need deliverance. Still, this extra day of Passover changes the focus from the redemption of our first exile to a future, final Messianic redemption of the Jewish People. According to Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, “The two are intimately connected, the beginning and end of one process, with God in the future redemption showing wonders‘as in the days of your exodus from Egypt.’” (Micah 7:15) The Torah reading for the eighth day of Passover (Deuteronomy 15:19–16:17) reminds us that the firstborn of one’s herd belongs to God. Of course, this is connected to the sparing of the firstborn Israelites whose houses were marked with the blood of the lamb. This Parasha reading also describes the offerings that were to be brought to the Temple for seven days during Pesach. And it provides a variety of laws, including those related to tithes, the year of release (Shemitah year), the release of slaves, and a comprehensive description of the Shalosh Regalim (three pilgrimage festivals): Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)—festivals during which God requires the men of Israel to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the Temple does not exist today, plans have been drawn up for the creation of the Third Temple. The Temple vessels and priestly garments have also been created, and the priests are already in training. This is the Temple in which the anti-Messiah will set up the abomination of the desolation in the Last Days. It is also the Temple that Yeshua (Jesus) will return to and demonstrate once again how zealous He is for His Father's house. The Prophesied Final Redemption This Haftarah passage was specially chosen to be chanted on the last day of Passover because it contains several allusions to the redemption from Egypt. The Haftarah, from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 10:32–12:6), begins with a prediction that Assyria will be defeated. This defeat apparently occurred on Passover, according to Jewish tradition. In this Haftarah reading, Assyria is described as the rod of God’s anger in punishing Israel’s unfaithfulness. But Assyria itself will be punished because it went beyond God’s bidding by being excessively cruel to Jerusalem. (Isaiah 10:11) Furthermore, it attributed its success against Jerusalem to its own might. (Isaiah 10:12–15) Isaiah 37 describes the Assyrian army’s unsuccessful campaign against Jerusalem. In one night, the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 in the camp. Assyria failed to crush Jerusalem. The power of David's throne in Jerusalem continues through the Messiah; this Haftarah portion promises that a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse (King David’s father). That shoot is the Messiah, and the Spirit of the Lord, Isaiah says, will rest on Him. (Isaiah 11:1–2) This reading further states that He will reign in Israel, and the nations will seek out His counsel. The Haftarah continues with Isaiah’s message of hope that the Israelites will again be gathered together from lands of exile and return to Israel. The reading also contains the famous great vision of the Messianic Era in which both society and nature will undergo a complete transformation—a new exodus, as it were. Peace and harmony will reign supreme among all people as the Messiah governs by God’s Spirit and not through force. Isaiah offers a prophetic vision of the final redemption. He includes some of the most known and perhaps appealing images of the harmony of the soon-coming MessianicEra, as well as the return of the Jewish People to the land of Israel, which will be ruled by the Messiah. “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6) “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:12) The Jewish People Long for Their Messiah While all of Passover points to future redemption, the eighth day of Passover is distinguished by focusing on the Messianic redemption, so much so that the final meal at the end of the Eighth day is called the Feast of the Messiah. The redemption that Messiah brings will be a complete redemption in which Israel will no longer be in exile. Past redemptions are considered incomplete in Judaism because the possibility for exile remained; however, in the final redemption, all possibilities for exile will be obliterated. (Chabad) Many Christians today are unaware that the belief in the coming of the Messiah is a cardinal tenet of the Jewish faith. The Jewish People have looked for centuries for a Messianic deliverer who would bring world peace. Nationally speaking they do not yet recognize that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah for whom they have been longing, or that He will soon be returning to Jerusalem as the King of Israel. However, the Prophet Zechariah does promise that Israel will one day recognize Yeshua as the Messiah: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (Zechariah 12:10) This is REPOSTED from over on Judah Gabriel's blog, Kineti L'Tziyon at http://tinyurl.com/oesz3q5
Shalom fine Kineti reader, and chag sameach. Here are some notes I jotted tonight for the significance of the 4 cups of Passover for Messianic believers. I hope you enjoy! -Judah Gabriel Why do we drink the 4 cups of Passover? The Jewish people have several traditions around the 4 cups. One prominent tradition is that the 4 cups correspond to the 4 “I will…” statements of Exodus 6: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people.… We take these 4 cups remembering the works of God, aspects of his saving Israel, facets of his salvation:
We also take these 4 cups in remembrance of Messiah. At Passover, Messiah commands us to “do this in remembrance of Me” – but what are we remembering about Messiah?
Cup 1: Sanctification “I will take you out” With this first cup we remember God pulling Israel out of the nations and setting them apart from the world. We remember how God took a bunch of nobody slaves and called them to be distinct from the nation they were living in. He took people that were suffering and dissolving and disappearing, he listened to their cries for help, and responded to their cries, “I will take you out!” This separate-ness,called sanctification, is why God blessed Israel but judged Egypt. This separate-ness is why God sent plagues on idolaters, but peace and safety to His people. This separateness is why God killed the firstborn of Egypt, but gave life and deliverance to his people Israel. When we drink this cup of sanctification, we remember the Messiah, who called us to the difficult and life-long path of a disciple: separate from the world, distinct from sinful people, a higher calling of discipline and obedience and service to God. We remember that Messiah has taken us out of the world, as it’s written, “Do not love the world, or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes are not of the Father, but of the world. And the world and all of these lusts are passing away. But the one that does the will of God abides forever and ever.” God has called each person in this room to live a holy life. Not one that is so like the world, that we’re indistinguishable from unbelievers. But a life marked by holiness, characterized by shalom, distinguished by obedience to God’s commandments, filled up with the fruit of the Spirit and producing good works for God and the Messiah who sanctifies us. Cup 2: Deliverance “I will save you” Have you ever experienced a difficult time in your life? Maybe you’re struggling with depression, battling addictions, barely surviving a fight-filled marriage? In such times, we call out to God for help. We’re at the end of what we can humanely do. We don’t know how else to fix the situation. “God, help me, I don’t know what else to do!” This is what the people of Israel did in Egypt. Being worked to death in a burning desert for hundreds of years, people were losing hope. At that point, all of God’s promises must have seemed ridiculous. That old promise that God would make them into a great nation must have seemed entirely laughable, a fairy tales you tell to children, but not a tangible reality. Then, God intervened. Then, God performed a divine reversal. Instead of a forgotten people dying in a desert, God puts on a show of divine power, his right arm bared for everyone to see, miracles worked one after another, judgment brought on the captors, release and favor on the captives. This was the salvation of Israel that was to be remembered for generations to come, this was the deliverance of God’s people that became etched throughout the Scriptures, ingrained even in the 10 commandments which begin, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, and delivered you from the land of slavery.” Had God not delivered them at that time, there would have been no Exodus from Egypt, no commandments given to Israel, no land of Israel, no prophets of Israel, no books of the Bible, no kings of Israel, no King David, and if not David, then no son of David, the Messiah, and if no Messiah, no disciples, no disciples, and we wouldn’t be here today. As we drink this cup of deliverance, let’s remember that God came through, he didn’t disappoint, and made good on his promise to deliver Israel. Let’s remember that God sent the Messiah, his own Son, who delivers us from sin; we no longer need to be slaves to sin, because we have repentance leading to forgiveness of sin in Yeshua’s name. We will overcome even the difficult circumstances because God will deliver us, as Messiah encouraged us saying, “Have no fear, have no fear, I have overcome the world!” Let’s remember and trust and believe that every man who puts his trust in the Lord will not be disappointed, but will see in his own life God’s complete and total deliverance. Cup 3: Redemption “I will redeem you” The idea of redemption is foreign to us in the 21st century. We might redeem a coupon code, or talk about a person’s sole redeeming quality, but we otherwise don’t deal in redemption. To redeem something is to regain it in exchange for payment. To buy back something. To repurchase or win back something. God is in the redemption business. God is called the Redeemer of Israel repeatedly in the Torah and in the psalms and in the in the prophets. In this 3rd Passover cup, the cup of redemption, we remember that God redeemed Israel from slavery, reclaiming his people for himself through what the Scriptures call an outstretched arm – God’s power on display through repeated miracles for Israel and plagues against Egypt.” This 3rd cup is the cup that our Master Yeshua also said, “This is the cup of the b’rit hachadasha (new covenant, new agreement, new deal), ratified by my blood, which is poured out for you.” This new covenant, this new deal was an agreement in which God agreed that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, spared from sin and death and judgment. Yeshua said this 3rd cup, the cup of redemption, is the cup of the new covenant, the cup of his blood poured out for humanity. His blood being poured out was what made this new deal possible. Isaiah spoke in advance of Messiah’s coming, foretelling that God’s righteous servant – the Messiah – will justify many people before God. This new deal was made possible by God laying on Messiah the guilt of humanity, that by his being beaten, bruised, and whipped, and speared, and nailed to a tree, Messiah’s shed blood will redeem mankind. This is the blood of the new covenant, the cup of redemption that we are about to drink. The book of Hebrews puts it this way: the priests in the Temple offering sacrifices and appearing before God’s presence is an earthly shadow of a heavenly reality: Messiah shedding his perfect blood, cleaning us of our sin and appearing before God on our behalf. Through Messiah’s shed blood, he took on himself the sins of many, becoming God’s Salvation and God’s Redemption. And because of this Messiah, we are all here today. Because of the merit of Messiah’s life and the pouring out of his blood, God has purchased from all nations a people for himself, a people who once were not a people. We, the billions of believers who call on the name of the God of Israel, have been redeemed by God, purchased through the precious blood of his own son, the spotless Passover lamb, to him be the glory forever! Cup 4: Restoration “I will take you as My own people” The hope we have as disciples of Yeshua is the hope promised in the Scriptures: God is restoring all things to their pristine state, turning evil on its head, rewarding the righteous, setting things straight. Are you distraught at how wicked and sinful people are today? Don’t worry, God will bring every evil act of men into judgment. Do you see confusion among secular people, in the media, and even in the church? God promises he will seal up the deceiver, cast him in the lake of fire, and Satan will no longer be able to deceive the nations. Are you ill? God has promised that when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives, disease will be taken away. Are you suffering? God will wipe every tear from your eye, remove pain and suffering. Are you old and frail? God will raise you up in the last day, give you a new immortal body, and you will reign with him from Jerusalem. In this final cup of Passover, the cup of Restoration, we remember that God kept his promise to restore Israel. It was seemingly impossible – the sons of Abraham to whom God has promised a nation and a great people had been reduced to a lowly group of slaves subject to a harsh master, a disorganized and bickering people dying through forced labor in the desert. God came through and restored the people to the glory he promised them. Abraham’s seed, the Jewish people, saw God at work, restoring his people to their honored state as kings and priests of God, making a reality his promise of a great nation through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. That nation and that people are still alive today as a testament to God’s faithfulness. It’s important we remember this restoration! In the 1800s, even many of the Jewish people forgot that God is serious about restoration. After nearly 2000 years of being a disorganized, disunited people outside of the land God promised, one of the major branches of Judaism decided God wouldn’t restore the land after all; the Jewish people would never return to the land of Israel, never again to be a nation. That branch of Judaism decided to remove from the siddur all prayers mentioning Israel, Zion, Jerusalem. The Christian world, too, discarded God’s promise of restoration, with one Vatican official writing in the early 1920s that God has “forever cursed the Jewish people to be nomads without a homeland.” But, to the surprise of even the religious, God didn’t forget his promise of restoration. On May 14th of 1948, the nation of Israel was reborn, the Jewish exile ended, the land of Israel brought forth fruit again, and the Hebrew language was restored. God is in the business of restoration, even in the modern age, yes, even in this generation. In the last 20 years, we have seen a renaissance of disciples of eshua who love the Torah, look at God’s commandments as holy and good and righteous. That you are here today, celebrating Passover on the other side of the planet from where Messiah lived, 2000 years after his day – this too is a testament to God at work, God restoring what once was and what will soon be in the Messianic Era. This final cup of Passover Yeshua our master did not drink. He said, “I will not drink of this cup until it finds its fullness in the Kingdom of Heaven”, that day when God wipes every tear from our eyes, when he takes away suffering and pain, causes death itself to die, resurrects his loved ones, all of his holy, faithful children reigning with him, bringing to earth a new earth, a new heaven and a new Jerusalem. Then Messiah’s name Immanuel – God with us will have its full meaning when God dwells with mankind and restores creation itself, making all things new. Chag sameach! The Abib new moon for March 21, 2015, has been confirmed throughout the country, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, and New Mexico. It has also been seen in Israel.
Based on tonight's sightings, the Passover Memorial will be the evening of April 3 and the Feast of Unleavened Bread from April 5-11. (Picture: Israel, courtesy of Nehemia Gordon) In Matthew 5:17, Yeshua said He came to fulfill the law, to PLEROO the Law of God. What does that mean? In a nutshell: The Greek word PLEROO (pronounced play ro' o) means to fully preach. This means that Yeshua said that He came to fully preach the Law of YHWH GOD... if Yeshua FULLY PREACHED the Law of YHWH GOD, then perhaps we should listen to what our Messiah preached. Here are dozens of scriptures that use the exact word, G4137, that Jesus used in Matthew 5:17: Matthew 1:22, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 3:15, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 13:48, 21:4, 23:32, 26:54, 26:56, 27:9, 27:35, Jesus (Yeshua) was stating that the Hebrew Bible should not be set aside, it still held authority. He did not come to destroy, abolish, do away with or ignore the Torah or the Prophets. He said so! He came to fully preach, to satisfy, to consumate, to render perfect the Law of YHWH GOD. "Do not think that I have come to take away the law and the writings of the prophets. No, I have not come to take them away. But I have come to do what they say must be done." Matthew 5:17 I love this translation of the words of the Messiah. He Himself says that He came to fulfill or satisfy, to do what the Law and Prophets said must be done!, not to abolish them! How much clearer can it be!? Our deeds and actions do matter. Grace is sufficient to save us -- we are all saved by the grace of YHWH. His saving us means that we will know Him and love Him and desire to honor and even obey Him. How can we obey, honor and serve Him if we believe His son came to abolish the Law He sent Him to consummate! The Holy Spirit lives in us now, in our hearts, we ARE the Temple of GOD now, so that we may walk in faith and obedience at a much deeper level than was possible before the Messiah came. We should now seek to obey (admittedly, not always successfully) the great moral and spiritual law which lies behind the Ten Commandments. It is impossible to love Yeshua fully if we do not obey Him. He said this, too. "If you love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15 To believe that we can ignore His commandments and keep on doing what is anathema to them because we "have grace" is paramount to blasphemy and must truly grieve the heart of the King!
I personally believe this article's topic (below) is EXTREMELY important to Christians, to believers in the Savior Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, GOD in Flesh, because I think this is exactly what has happened.
Divorce (verb): A tearing asunder. A dissolution. A separation of things that were, or ought to be, connected. Disunity. Estrangement. Alienation. To disconnect. A division or disassociation. To detach or isolate. To create a gulf, chasm or abyss. DO YOU HEAR THE VIOLENCE AND PAIN INVOLVED IN THIS WORD?? Words mean something. Words are not isolated sounds. Language is what separates man from animals. We are made in the image of the Creator. This Creator chose to make us in His image, with language.... don't you think this makes WORDS important? Calling what has happened to the church of the first century, making it what it is today, a divorce, is absolutely fitting. The basic rundown: when Christians forgot where we came from (which was by design from the Roman Catholic Church and/or by accident just due to lack of knowledge of the Word or experience with true believers), how could we possibly know where we are going and who we are as we go!!?? Modern Christianity has NO idea where it is going today (or yesterday) because it has NO idea from where it has truly come.. So much of the actual Word of GOD has been muddled, lost, twisted, misconstrued, misinterpreted, lied about, changed, moved, re-written, ignored or forgotten over time. We have gotten to the point where there is no difference between modern Christianity and rabbinical Judaism, humanism, atheism or anything else. Christianity is not seen as any different from the world around us. We are not distinct from the world. It ALL runs together. It all looks the same. Much of what we now call religion or church or Christianity is not true, factual or even based on the word of YHWH anymore. They are evolutions of man's own interpretation, his evolved traditions and history. It isn't about leaving the church and joining the synagogue, disavowing this group's traditions and adopting this other one's, or leaving the church/synagogue altogether and forgetting about GOD and everything religious. It is about LEAVING THE WORLD, studying the Word of GOD ourselves and knowing what He really says -- not relying on what men tell us He says., not relying on what any man hopes He says, not putting our hopes on what man thought He said, not even what we believe He says -- but instead hanging our hopes and expectations on the promises and Truths of WHAT HE ACTUALLY SAYS! Repeatedly, the LORD warns us not to take away or add to the words of the Bible. He exhorts and urges us to read and know what He actually says! FOR. OURSELVES. Yet, in our humanness and pride and arrogance, even Rabbinical Judaism and modern Christianity have done exactly what we were told NOT to do! In this article, Rabbinical Judaism is what the author is talking about as having evolved since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. I'm adding that Christianity has become something first century believers in the Messiah would NEVER EVEN recognize -- it has become it's own religion that I have begun calling Churchianity. That sounds harsh, I know. It sounds too tough, too "in your face", but the harsh reality is that, not even Jesus, walking on this earth in the flesh today, would recognize what some call Christianity. The last sentence of the whole article sums up what it has meant to have this divorce between the reality of GOD and the thoughts of man's own making. Instead of partnering with and being a part of those whom Lord chose to reveal himself, we "Christians" have been some of their worst enemies down through the centuries. In reality, that means that we have chosen to divorce ourselves from GOD (Yahweh), because He is the GOD who chose the Hebrews-Jews-Israelites. He promised them He would never forget them and He won't. We have not replaced them or taken their place as a church or as a whole. GOD always keeps His promises. Always. Scripture says He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hallelujah! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now excerpts from an article from Messianic Bibles for Isra'el “I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will always be there.” (2 Chronicles 7:16) While the lives of countless millions have been radically changed by Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) for the better, how many have known Him as a Jew? Throughout His lifetime, Yeshua/Jesus worshiped in the Temple in Jerusalem, honoring God’s commitment to the Temple Mount which God chose and consecrated, placing there His Name, eyes and heart forever. (2 Chronicles 7:16) He also consistently attended the synagogues of the first century. He participated, as well, in the Torah readings, giving His own teachings on Scripture. Like Him, the first-century Jewish Believers in Yeshua also maintained their faith in an authentic Jewish context. As the message of salvation was brought to the nations, the Gentile Believers faced the task of changing, adapting and / or repenting of their own cultural traditions and entering into a lifestyle that reflected Yeshua's message—a message consistent with the Torah given through Moses to Israel. Today, however, many Believers have limited understanding of the Jewish roots of their faith, let alone its roots in the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic Covenants. “His message has touched nearly every nation … and that is a good thing. However, in the process, the nature and identity of the Messiah has been tampered with, even altered, by those without the authority to do so," says an angelic character named Ariel in Ron Cantor’s novel Identity Theft. Of course, Cantor is referring to the true-to-life and troubling divorce of Yeshua from His Jewish identity in the eyes of the world at large and in the understanding of both Gentile and Jewish Believers. Such a divorce makes it difficult to bring the Good News to God’s Chosen People since the message is steeped in Gentile culture, making it look like foreign to the Jewish People. The Jewish People are waiting for the Good News of the Jewish Messiah through David’s line, so when they are presented with a Gentile Messiah, it is too easy to dismiss the message altogether. Rediscovering the Jewish Context of Faith “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.” (I Corinthians 3:10) The Judaism of Yeshua's time was different than today. First-century Judaism revolved around Temple worship. Of course, about 40 years after Yeshua's death and resurrection, the Temple was completely destroyed by the Romans. With the Temple gone, Rabbinic Judaism grew from Pharisaic Judaism and developed the traditions connected with modern-day worship at the synagogue. After the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, the synagogue became central to worship and prayer. Prayer came to be conducted three times a day to correspond with Temple services of offerings and prayer. That was perhaps a logical outcome since the synagogue had already emerged in Jerusalem and elsewhere as a communal meeting place for the Jewish People before the Second Temple was destroyed. That is why it was Yeshua’s practice to visit the local synagogue, "proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness." (Matthew 9:35) His pattern of visiting the synagogue and preaching was entirely consistent with the pattern of sectarian preachers or teachers common in His day. Like Yeshua, those preachers also had talmudim (disciples). The local synagogue was part and parcel of the Jewish lifestyle even before the Temple was destroyed. "Virtually all scholars recognize that the synagogue was a well-developed institution at least a century before the Romans destroyed the Temple," writes cultural historian Steven Fine. (Center for Online Judaic Studies: "Did the Synagogue Replace the Temple?") The synagogue was created for reading the Torah and the Prophets, studying the commandments, teaching, and hosting visitors from abroad. "It was a place where they could experience religion in a way very different from, yet complimentary to, what was available to them in the Temple," Fine said. The synagogue did not in any way detract from the large-scale sacrificial worship that took place at the Temple, in which Yeshua and His talmudim (disciples) faithfully participated. Although Fine says that “the role of prayer in synagogue life was dwarfed by the study of Scripture,” it played enough of a role that Yeshua admonished ostentatious shows of charity and prayer in Matthew: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:5) As small hubs of communal Jewish life, the synagogues were important to Yeshua, His talmudim and the larger community who believed He was the Promised One, including many leaders. However, it seems that not all Believers in Yeshua’s day, and perhaps after His death and resurrection, were vocal about their faith, due to the danger of being forced to leave the synagogue: "Many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God." (John 12:42-43) The Leadership of Peter, James, and Paul "You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." (John 4:22-23) The Pharisees, a prominent Jewish sect, were influential in the development of the traditions of Believers. Paul of Tarsus was a proud member of this sect, as were many other Jewish Believers. "I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees." (Acts 23:6) As the numbers of Gentile Believers in the first century grew, some Jewish Believers concluded they must be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:1). The question, in essence, was whether the Gentiles should go through conversion ceremonies to become Jewish. This required taking an oath to keep the Mosaic Law, along with all the traditions and rules that had developed around keeping them. This dispute prompted Paul and Barnabas, “along with some other Believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.” (Acts 15:2) The fact that the apostles and elders were based in Jerusalem is an indication that life was still revolving around Temple worship for the early Believers. There in Jerusalem, we see that the leadership of the council included Peter and James. It was to them that some of the Believers, who were Pharisees, presented arguments that Gentile Believers should undergo a ritual conversion process: “Some of the Believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, 'The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.'” (Acts 15:5) This was no easy decision, apparently. The apostles and the elders discussed this question in great depth before arriving at a resolution. Then Peter addressed the assembly, telling them that God had accepted the Gentile Believers on the basis of their faith, in the same way that He had accepted the Jewish Believers on the basis of their faith: “God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them [the Gentiles] by giving the Ruach HaKodesh [Holy Spirit] to them, just as He did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9) Paul and Barnabas explained how God purified the Gentiles’ hearts by faith when he told the assembly how God was at work among the Gentiles even though they had not ritually converted. At the conclusion of this meeting, James emphasized that Gentiles turning to faith in the Jewish Messiah was in fulfillment of the prophets, quoting from Amos 9:11–12: “In that day I will restore David's fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins—and will rebuild it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name.” James, saying "that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God," (Acts 15:19) provided the following list of things from which Gentile Believers should abstain:
Some scholars interpret this list to be a reference to the seven Noahide laws from the Noahic Covenant, which also includes a prohibition against blasphemy and theft, and establishes the need for courts of justice. According to the rabbis, the Noahide laws are a universal moral code. Although James concluded with the statement that Gentile Believers do not have to enter the Mosaic Covenant through conversion, he did not diminish the importance of the law of Moses nor its influence as a moral light to the world: "For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” (Acts 15:21) Indeed, it is clear in Acts 21 that the law of Moses certainly had not grown less important to Jerusalem's first-century Believers in Yeshua. When Paul returns there, the Jewish Believers greet him, noting a continued commitment to Jewish tradition and practice: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law." (Acts 21:20) But they also inform him that a dispute has risen about his ministry to the Jews. He has been falsely accused of teaching the Jews who live among the Gentiles to not follow Moses, including teaching them not to circumcise their children or live according to Jewish custom. "They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.” (Acts 21:21) To show that this was a false accusation and that he himself still lived in obedience to the law, Paul agreed to join the purification rites of four Jerusalemite men who would be taking a purification vow at the Temple. As the rites involved a preliminary hair cutting, it is likely that he took a voluntary Nazarite Vow, which involved abstinence from eating grape products and from cutting hair for a determined season—in this case, seven days (Numbers 6:1–27; Acts 21:26–27). "Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law." (Acts 21:24) Over the course of the next week, Paul and these men worshiped at the Holy Temple. When the seven days of the vow were almost over, Jews from Asia noticed Paul in the Temple. Sadly, these Jews subscribed to the misguided belief that Paul “teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place.” (Acts 21:28) They stirred up the crowd and a violent mob dragged Paul from the Temple Mount, believing that he had defiled the Temple by bringing Trophimus the Ephesian, a Gentile who had been seen in Jerusalem with Paul. The accusation was totally false. Paul was entirely observant and he would never defile the Temple. He also was not teaching the Gentiles to dismiss the law of Moses. He did uphold, however, that salvation was through faith in Yeshua and not through works or conversion to Judaism. Early Jewish Believers continued to live an entirely Jewish lifestyle. But as the number of Gentile Believers grew, they also increasingly rejected the Jewish roots of their faith and dismissed their debt to the Jewish People. After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire around AD 325, the Jewish people endured centuries of prejudice and persecution, often being forced to give up their Jewish identities. Despite that, God has had His hand on the Jewish People and He has kept them throughout the centuries, miraculously reestablishing the Jewish State in 1948 in fulfillment of countless Bible prophecies. Throughout the centuries, as well, God has continued to call the Jewish People to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). And even though these Believers have often experienced persecution from both Jews and Gentiles, just like Paul and the early Jewish Believers, they have faithfully continued to share the Good News with the Jewish People and the nations. Centuries of anti-Judaism within Christianity have helped create the false impression that Yeshua and the first-century Hebraic faith were not Jewish. The Jewish People have developed strong feelings about Yeshua, in whose name they have been persecuted, beaten, accused, and annihilated for nearly 2,000 years. |
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